Surgical pillow having oxygen tube supporting means



Dgc. 9, 1969 J. B. BEHR'ENDT SURGICAL PILLOW HAVING OXYGEN TUBESUPPORTING MEANS Filed Oct. 13. 1967 INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,482,571 SURGICAL PILLOW HAVING OXYGEN TUBESUPPORTING MEANS Jack B. Behrendt, 3101 E. Palos Verdes Drive, SanPedro, Calif. 90732 Filed Oct. 13, 1967, Ser. No. 675,157 Int. Cl. A61m/00; A61g 13/00; A61j 7/06 US. Cl. 128-185 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE An operating table accessory comprising a semiresilientheadrest formed to seat the head of a patient on an operating table anddesigned to hold the head firmly during surgery. The accessory isenclosed in an impervious casing adapted to withstand repeatedsterilization and includes an oxygen dispensing tube supported closelyabove the patients nose.

This invention relates to a surgical accessory and more particularly toa sterilizable headrest for use on the operating table to support thepatients head firmly and comfortably and includes provision fordispensing oxygen to the patient.

Surgery of a wide variety of types performed upon the head necessitateuse of some means for holding the head firmly in a desired position.Heretofore, it has been commonplace to employ sandbags, stacked anddisposed as found most appropriate and effective but this practice issubject to numerous objections and disadvantages. Thus, such bags areheavy, difiicult to manipulate and distribute, can result inobjectionable concentration of pressure on areas of the patients headand not infrequently the sand shifts allowing the head to moveunexpectedly.

The present invention seeks to overcome the numerous shortcomings ofprior practice and makeshift expedients by providing a surgical headsupport comprising a broadbased thick block of semi-resilient materialfeaturing suitably shaped recesses in its upper surface for firmlyseating and supporting the head and neck. The resilient material isenclosed in an impervious plastic enclosing jacket preformed to conformsnugly with the contour of the main body of the accessory. The accessoryalso features a pair of sockets disposed to either side of the headseating recess for detachably supporting an oxygen distributing devicehaving apertures for dispensing oxygen toward the patients nose andwhich device may serve additionally as a support for an impervious sheetof plastic draped over the patients head.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to providea formed headrest for holding a patients head firmly in a desiredposition on an operating table while undergoing surgery.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a surgical headrestaccessory enclosed in impervious sterilizable material and featuringmeans for distributing oxygen to the patient while his head is supportedon the accessory.

These and other more specific objects will appear upon reading thefollowing specification and claims and upon considering in connectiontherewith the attached drawing to which they relate.

Referring now to the drawing in which preferred embodiment of theinvention is illustrated.

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing the preferred embodiment of theinvention accessory in use on an operating table;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the head rest on an enlarged scale;and

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FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 3-3 on FIGURE2.

Referring more particularly to FIGURES 1 and 2, there is shown anillustrative embodiment of the surgical accessory designated generally10 embodying the principles of the present invention. The accessorycomprises a thick block 11 of resilient elastomeric material, as spongyrubber or plastic compounded to withstand sterilizing temperatures. Thespongy material should have considerably more firmness than aconventional foam rubber pillow, a firmness which responds to lightfinger pressure being found quite satisfactory for general use. However,for delicate eye surgery and the like, greater firmness is often desiredand is readily attainable by selection of an appropriate elastomericfoam material as foam urethane. The main body of the accessorypreferably has a thickness of 3 to 4 inches. The central portion of theplaque is formed with a semi-spherical recess 12 to receive the headwhich opens into a semi-cylindrical recess 13 extending through theforward edge of the accessory. It will be understood that recesses 12and 13 are sized and contoured to fit the rear of the head and neck andare not so deep as to interfere with shifting the head to variousalternate positions to either side of the position shown in FIGURE 1.

It will be understood that the forward side walls 14, 14 of theaccessory to either side of the neck seating recess 13 diverge outwardlyand forwardly in a manner to rest firmly against the adjacent shoulderareas of the patient as is clearly illustrated in FIGURE 1. This im'portant feature of the accessory aids materially in holding the patientshead axially aligned with his body and also prevents shifting androtation of the accessory about the center of recess 12.

Spongy material 11 is fully encased with a covering jacket of suitableimpervious material comprising upper and lower halves 15, 16 sealed orbonded together about the entire lower rim edge 17 of the accessory.Flexible pliant thermoplastic sheeting, as polyvinyl chloride or polyethylene may be employed. Upper half 15 is molded to fit snugly aboutthe main body and the contour of recesses 12 and 13 by well known vacuumforming technique whereas lower half 16 comprises a fiat sheet of thesame material.

Oxygen may be supplied to the patient through the oxygen dispensingdevice 20 which is formed from semi-rigid plastic tubing arched into aninverted U-shaped configuration. As here shown, two lengths of tubing21, 22 are employed, their adjacent ends being socketed over theopposite ends of a hollow T-fitting 23. The latter preferably includesthreads at its opposite ends to hold the parts assembled whilepermitting limited rotation of the stem end 24 which may be connected tothe oxygen supply through a flexible hose 25. Tube 21 is provided with arow of oxygen dispensing outlets 27 disposed to direct oxygen toward thenose of the patient.

The oxygen dispensing device 20 is detachably supported on the main bodyof the headrest in a manner which will be best understood by referenceto FIGURES 2 and 3. Thus, the lower ends of the resilient tubes 21 and22 are insertable through rigid washers 30 bonded to the upper side ofthe headrest adjacent the opposite sides of neck rest 13. Since thesetubes tend to straighten, their lower ends have a firm frictionalengagement with the openings in socket washers 30, 30 and this actionalong with the support provided by the spongy material sutfices tosupport dispenser 20 firmly in an upright position. The underlyingportion of spongy material 11 is pierced or slotted to permit receptionof the tube ends which have a loose sliding fit with the opening throughwashers '30. The spongy material serves to seal the lower ends of thetubes upon being inserted and it is therefore unnecessary to close theseends. If the oxygen dispensing device is not needed or interferes withthe work being performed by the surgeon or anesthetist, it may bequickly detached simply by lifting it from its seating sockets. Likewiseit is quickly placed in use by grasping the opposite sides of the tubingand flexing them toward one another sufiiciently for insertion into theseating sockets. Also since T-fitting 23 is readily rotated about theaxis of the tubing, supply hose 25 can be shifted to any position foundmost convenient by the surgeon and his attendants.

After use in an operation, the accessory headrest and oxygen dispensingdevice are readily disassembled, sterilized and sealed in sterile bagsuntil needed for the next operation.

While the particular surgical head support herein shown and disclosed indetail is fully capable of attaining the objects and providing theadvantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merelyillustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention andthat no limitations are intended to the details of construction ordesign herein shown other than as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A surgical accessory for a patient while undergoing surgery andadapted to provide relaxing but firm support for the head on anoperating facility, said accessory comprising a thick block ofsemi-spongy material having a semi-spherical recess opening upwardlyfrom the midportion thereof sized to seat snugly a substantial portionof the patients head, a snug-fitting enclosing jacket for said main bodyof impervious material adapted to withstand repeated sterilization,oxygen dispensing means overlying said head seating recess comprising aperforated inverted U-shaped tube, and means on said main body forsupporting said oxygen dispensing means in a position spaced closelyabove the nasal passages of a patients head while using said accessory.

2. The accessory defined in claim 1 characterized in that said oxygendispensing means comprises a semi-flexible tube formed with oxygendispensing openings positioned to discharge along downwardly convergingpaths, and means for detachably coupling an oxygen supply to said oxygendispensing means.

3. The accessory defined in claim 2 characterized in that the means onsaid main body for supporting said oxygen dispensing means comprises apair of sockets disposed one to either side of said semi-spherical headseat- 4 ing recess and sized to have a close frictional fit with theopposite lower ends of said oxygen dispensing tube.

4. The accessory defined in claim 1 characterized in that said oxygendispensing means comprises a pair of plastic tubes swivellyinterconnected between their adjacent ends by a T-fitting and bent intoinverted U-shaped configuration, said oxygen dispensing means includingdispensing openings in at least one of said plastic tubes disposed todispense oxygen downwardly along converging paths.

5. The accessory defined in claim 4 characterized in that said oxygendispensing means and the supporting means therefor on said thick blockof semi-spongy material include means for holding the same firmly butdetachably assembled.

6. The accessory defined in claim 1 characterized in that said enclosingjacket includes a first half comprising a fiat sheet of imperviousthermoplastic material underlying the fiat bottom of said thick blockand a deeply drawn second half snugly conforming to the top, sides andhead seating recess, and the juxtaposed rim edges of said first andsecond halves of said enclosing jacket being fused together along acontinuous fluid-tight seam adjacent the lower rim edge of saidaccessory and effective to hold said halves permanently assembled to oneanother.

7. The accessory defined in claim 1 characterized in that the transverseedges of said block of semi-spongy material diverge forwardly toward thepatients shoulders at an appropriate angle to rest firmly against hisshoulders when his head is resting in said semi-spherical recess andbeing adapted to hold the head aligned with the patients body Whileoutstretched on an operating table.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,001,362 8/1911 Davison 128-1452,025,659 12/1935 Gilquin 128-185 2,032,101 2/1936 Sullivan 128l452,940,088 7/1960 Boos 5 338 FOREIGN PATENTS 981,828 1951 France.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner PAUL E. SHAPIRO, Assistant ExaminerU.S. Cl. X.R. 5338; 128-140

